WuXi AppTec’s contract development and manufacturing subsidiary announced plans to build a new R&D center in Shanghai, next door to its existing production plant.
The 320,000 square foot laboratory center will house 500 scientists once completed, allowing the campus to move APIs and intermediates through preclinical, clinical and commercial stages, as well as offer other development platforms, STA Pharmaceutical said in a statement.
STA’s signed an investment agreement with the government of Shanghai’s Jinshan district, which has worked to attract biotech and pharma firms to the area. The agreement’s signing ceremony was attended by several local government officials and STA senior management.
Currently, WuXi STA has over 1,000 scientists located at five sites in China and the U.S.—while its parent, the largest CRO on the Chinese mainland, employs more than 18,000 at over two dozen facilities worldwide and has looked to enlarge its global operations over the past few months.
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WuXi AppTec recently expanded its Laboratory Testing Division in New Jersey, doubling its total space to over 115,000 square feet and adding 200 jobs. The company described the building as one of the largest preclinical and clinical testing labs in the country, and part of a new “center of excellence” for drug development.
And late last month, WuXi AppTec received Chinese regulatory approval to relist on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The company planned to raise 5.74 billion yuan ($914 million) by issuing about 104 million shares in an IPO, to further support the company’s growth in facilities and R&D offerings. The company previously listed STA separately on China’s over-the-counter trading market.